In a panel moderated by Hero Complex’s own Gina McIntyre, Gilliam’s daughter and producer, Amy Gilliam, and producers Dean Zanuck and Zev Foreman shed a bit of light on the enigmatic movie, the director’s first feature since 2009’s “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.”

Waltz, who appears naked, bald and hunched over a desk in the opening shots of the film, plays Qohen, an eccentric and overworked computer genius in the midst of an existential crisis. Melanie Thierry is Bainsley, a woman who seems to be the answer to Qohen’s search for meaning.

“What could be deemed a small, little indie becomes an event when Terry’s involved,” Zanuck said. “He does touch on themes he has in the past, but with this script and these actors and the world he creates, this is new.”

When an audience member asked why Gilliam’s films so often seem to be about a persecuted man, the director’s daughter said, “Terry loves to be tormented. That’s what makes him create this kind of work. Without the torment, this world would be boring.”

The American-born British director, best known to many for his work in the comedy troupe Monty Python, appeared in the panel via a video message.

“I’m being held by the producers of ‘The Zero Theorem’ until I’m actually done,” Gilliam told the audience. “I’m trying to communicate with you through the help of the National Security Administration. I’m confident of their spying skills.”

Gilliam was quick to distance his movie from the genre fare that typifies Comic-Con.

“If they tell you this a film with superheroes… explosions… zombies, they’re lying,” he said. “It’s about a man waiting for a simple thing.”

Elsewhere Gilliam has hinted that the movie, which still does not have U.S. distribution, will premiere at next month’s Venice Film Festival.